Reopen the Wounds
by Guineapiggirl60
Summary: Adrien does not ever want to look back at his childhood. But after he leaves his private school, he starts seeing not only the ghosts of his past, but everyone else's too. He realized that he will have to reopen the wounds that took so long to heal. With the help of the other girl in the institution who can see ghosts, he can finally put all of these wandering spirits to rest.
1. Prologue

Hamilton reference coming up people! Credit to Lin - Manuel for it. I felt like it fit the scene.

Also…

Heathers reference (of course) . Credit to Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe. Also fit the scene.

( We might be seeing a theme here )

XXX

_"Mom?" Adrien cried, holding his mom's hand._

_" Oh, my sweet, sweet child." She said, cupping his face and wiping away his tears. " I will be with you always. I promise."_

_Emile kissed his forehead before her head _feel_ back to the pillow and she took her last breath._

_Adrien picked at one of her curls then collapsed on the floor in tears._

_His twin walked up behind him, kneeling next to him and giving him a hug. " She's in a better place now." He whispered. " She was suffering for far too long."_

2 years later

_Felix looked at his twin. " Adrien?" His voice sounded raw and guttural, which is not the way Adrien wanted to remember him. _

_"No! Shh." Adrien choked through tears, clamping a hand over his mouth. "Save your breath and stay alive!"_

_Felix smiled at his twin. He was only older by 2 minutes, but sometimes it felt like 2 years. _

_" Adrien, please. Face facts. I'm dying." Felix squeezed Adrien's hand._

_Through his waterfall of tears, Adrien managed a sentence. "Say hi to mom."_

_And just like that, Felix was gone. He had left him, just like mom, and now Adrien was alone with his father._


	2. Chapter 1

The scene here is inspired by a scene in the book The Summoning.

Melanie Martinez lyrics to set the mood. I love that girl!

I just realized that in most of my fanfictions, Adrien is suffering. Poor Adrikins.

But what can I say? It makes for a good story.

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You're all on your own and

You lost all your friends

You told yourself that

It's not you, it's them

You're one of a kind

And no one understands

But those cry baby tears

Keep coming back again

Someone's turning the handle

To that faucet in your eyes

They're pouring out

Where everyone can see

Your heart's too big for your body

It's why you won't fit inside

They're pouring out

Where everyone can see

They call you cry baby, cry baby

But you don't even care

Cry baby, cry baby

So you laugh through your tears

Melanie Martinez - Crybaby

xXx

Adrien chewed at his sandwich. He couldn't taste anything. It was truly exquisite, after all, it had bread from the Dupain-Cheng's bakery. Nathalie made sure that his sandwiches were just perfect. But today, just like many other days, he wasn't feeling it. He was lost in a train of thought that was spiraling out of control.

Unwillingly, he thought about his relationship with his father. His mind wandered toward that topic a lot now. Probably because it put such a heavy weight on his shoulders. He would never forget how his father had reacted when he found out that Nathalie was paying for a tutor for him.

" You already go to a private school! Do you know how much that fucking costs me!? If you don't want to go back to being homeschooled, you better get your grades up, you ungrateful little shit!" Gabriel roared, his face contorted in rage.

Gabriel had smacked Adrien on his arm so had with his cane that Adrien had to wear the long sleeved uniform for a month while the bruise healed. In the middle of the summer. It was more torture that Gabriel had unknowingly put him through.

Adrien's grades hadn't dipped below an A since.

The hardwood floors gleamed. This school had a whole battalion of janitors to make them do just that. Adrien thought that a large portion of the money that was paid for his schooling went towards the schools interiors. TV's in every room. Large, curved ceilings with shiny, golden chandeliers. Waxed mahogany floors and silk rugs.

" All right pupils! " The lunch monitor called, clapping her hand to get their attention. " Time to …."

Adrien wasn't listening. He was staring at the little girl behind her. Dressed in a pink, frilly dress and layers of tulle, curly, babydoll hair, and blood streaming from her mouth. She tugged at the monitors pencil skirt frantically. As if noticing Adrien for the first time, she turned to him and started walking in his direction. Not walking. It was more like she was dragging her body towards him.

" Help. " Her voice rasped. " HELP ME!"

Adrien started backing away from her approaching figure. He climbed onto his table, pressing his back against the wall. The lunch monitor yelled at him, horrified. " Adrien Agreste! What do you think you're doing! Get down this instant! This is a school, not a zoo!" The other students, who were lining up to leave the cafeteria, pointed at him, whispering and laughing.

Adrien didn't notice their taunts. All he could see was the dead girl closing the distance between them . Two more teachers came in, grabbing his arms and pulling him off the tables. He fought against them, flailing his limbs, kicking, punching and screaming. " Let go of me! " He roared. " I have to get away!"

The little girl came close to his face, smiling and showing rows of rotted teeth. "Mommy used to say my smile is bad 'cuz I ate too much candy" The girl said, pointing to the lunch monitor. " Now she doesn't say anything to me at all, and I can eat all the candy I want."

" Why are you coming to me?! " Adrien asked frantically. " Why not talk to your mom?!"

The little smiled again, amused. " Can't you tell? You're special. You're different." She waved her hand in front of the lunch monitors face, and getting no response, turned back to face him.

" No one else can see me. You know why? It's cuz' I'm dead."

Adrien was sure his skin tone got at least 5 shades lighter, if not more. He reached out to try and touch the little girl, but before he could, he felt a stabbing pain in his right arm. Looking down, he saw a doctor's needle piercing through his skin.

And then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 2

Looking back at this, I have literally no clue what the heck I was thinking when I named this. I mean, Reopen the Wounds?! What even!? But whatever. I'm not changing it ( me being super stubborn).

Also, I didn't have enough characters left to put this in the description, but:

TW: Child abuse, mental illness, cussing, mental institution, schizophrenia, blood/gore, horror and ghosts

XXXXXXX

Adrien heard beeping and hushed voices as he slowly came through. He felt like he was watching what was happening from underwater. Two people standing in front of him talking. One was wearing a white coat and held a clipboard. A doctor maybe? And he saw a man wearing red pants, just like his father. He didn't know very many people who wore red pants. Could it really be his father? He turned his attention to the distorted view of the room he was in. It was almost all white, with shiny silver boxes that he thought could be machines. He could faintly remember being in a room like this when he was a lot younger. The beeping sound the same. He was whisked back to that setting.

He remembered slowly opening his eyes. His eyelids felt like they weighed a million pounds. His golden lashes had fluttered as his eyes felt dry. What was that in front of him. A… woman? Her sunshine hair blended with her pale peach face. He couldn't make out much of her features. A man stood next to her, silver hair melting together with his cream complexion. They vaguely reminded him of his parents.

And then he was back in what he realized was his hospital room and his senses were fully restored. Completely ignoring everyone around him, he mulled over what he had just seen.

Was that his first memory? When he was born? How could he even remember that?

His father laid a hand on Adrien's arm, jerking him out of his procession of thoughts. Adrien flinched. Even though Gabriel would never do it in front of others, Adrien was still exceedingly scared of him.

"You got put in the hospital after your … outburst this afternoon." Gabriel grimaced. Adrien could tell his father was very disappointed in him. He silently reprimanded himself.

The doctor took a step forward. "Adrien, a psychiatrist will come to talk with you soon." Turning his attention to Gabriel, he continued. " I will need you to leave the room, sir. "

Gabriel glanced at Adrien , and the boy could tell that his father was absolutely seething. Adrien's father nodded curtly, then silently left the room.

A woman burst into the room, wearing a white doctors coat that was unbuttoned. Under it, she wore a yellow t-shirt and jeans. Her hair flowed behind her, blue with yellow ribbons in it. Her energy immediately brightened the room, and her red lipsticked smile painted the frigid hospital air.

Adrien couldn't help smiling back.

The doctor exchanged a few quiet words with her, then handed her his clipboard and left the room. The psychiatrist practically bounced over to Adrien, her enthusiasm radiating out of her. Adrien got out of bed, and they both headed over to the two couches in his room. He sat down on the rough, grey armchair, and she sat on the couch across from him, her dazzling smile glinting at him.

"Hi! I'm Sabine! You're Adrien, right?" Her voice was bubbly and friendly. Adrien nodded, and she scribbled something on the clipboard.

"Let's cut to the chase. What happened yesterday at lunch, Adrien?" Adrien searched his mind for the memory, and as it hit him, he froze.

"...Help me….."

"...candy….."

" It's cuz' I'm dead."

He could hear someone saying his name over and over again, and finally, he blinked and he was back in the hospital. Sabine looked worried, but when he grinned at her, she beamed back.

"Thought I lost you there for a second." Sabine said. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine." Adrien shook his head. "No, I'm good. Sorry."

He took a deep breath, managing to get himself under control.

"Um, yesterday at lunch, um, I saw this little girl next to on of the lunch monitors. She had blood coming from her mouth. And, um, no-one else could see her. She said that she was dead. You probably think I'm crazy."

Sabine was furiously taking notes. As he finished his story, she looked up.

"First of all, you're not crazy. But, I am thinking about sending you somewhere. I work at a very nice institution at the edge of the city. I think it would be good for you to go there for a little bit, maybe a month."

Adrien looked up at her blue eyes.

"Would I be sleeping there?"

"Yes, but your parents can come visit you."

Adrien nodded, but inside he was celebrating. A whole month away from his father!

"So, do you want to go there?"

"Yes." He contained his emotions, not wanting to sound happy.

"Okay. Cool! I'll go talk to your father."

As Sabine left the room, Adrien bounced his legs in anticipation. He was so excited! He knew he shouldn't have been, but really, how bad could it be?


	4. Chapter 3

Okay. Here's where things get interesting.

Also, am I the only one who noticed that in the latest episode ( Gamer 2.0 ( S3E13 ) ) Chat Noir called Ladybug BUGINETTE!? Sooooo….yeah. Chew on that

XXX

Adrien looked up at the beautiful victorian mansion in front of his eyes. It's many-storied structure loomed ominously over the car parked next to it, and it's dark silhouetted shape stood out against the ambrosia-gold and salmon sunset that painted the evening sky with streaks of ravishing colors. The porch wrapped itself all the way around the deep blue exterior like it was giving the house a hug. The front part of the mansion had a prominent triangular roof portion right above the front door, but the rest was decked with interspersed towers and turrets that reminded him of a castle. Some were partially made of stone. The arched windows were covered with deep maroon velvet curtains, as if shutting the rest of the world out.

Adrien saw a curtain flutter in one of the right turrets. He caught a glimpse of a girl peering out, her blanch skin in stark contrast with the shadowy room she was in. Her cerulean eyes whispered of her forlorn spirit, but they filled with surprise when she realized he was looking at her. She hastily closed the curtains, her ghostly face disappearing behind a thick sheet of rich crimson.

Adrien's hand curled tighter around the strap of his beige leather handbag, his knuckles turning white.

He walked cautiously towards the front porch, his shoes gently scuffing the slate-grey cobblestone path.

As he alighted the foxy cherry-wood steps, they creaked ominously, as if warning him.

_Turn back! Turn back now, while you still can!_

They seemed to say.

Adrien stood on the porch in front of the enormous, glamorously carved, ash-wood front door. A shining silver sign above it declared it "Francoise Dupont Mental Institution For Troubled Youth". On it was a leaden brass skull door knocker, which gleamed as if it had just been polished.

Sabine walked up behind him, throwing him a quick, reassuring smile before wrapping her hand around the handle of the heavy metal skull.

_Knock, Knock_


	5. Chapter 4

From now on, I have vowed to respond to every review left on my fanfictions ( because they arent popular enough to have more than 10 ;P)

I LOVE it when people leave reviews. Plot ideas, Contstructive criticism, AU ideas, they're all welcome!

XXXXXXXX

"It was dark inside the room."

Adrien sat up in his bed, panting. Someone had said something, somewhere upstairs. He slowed his breathing, desperately trying to pick up where the mysterious voice had come from. His first night at the institution and he was already getting creeped out.

"You're so silly. You tell it like a narrator."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and a slow chill crept down his spine, those seemingly harmless words making his head spin. It was a different voice, higher pitched and younger than the first. Her words were edged with insomnia, but the giggle that came after it was sweet and enchanting.

It reminded Adrien of his moms laughter.

Suddenly, the room blurred, and Adrien blinked to find himself looking at his mom. She smiled in that charming way that she always did, and was about to open her mouth before her figure wavered. It was like she was sinking underwater, but she was standing right in front of him.

She was standing in front of him, right?

She managed to get a few words out before she completely disappeared, evaporating into the air like she was just a vision, just a hallucination.

"My sweet child ..."

Adrien knew it was her. It had to be.

But how? Was he really going crazy, seeing people who weren't there? He was pondering the question when he heard voices in the hallway that sounded the same as the ones upstairs.

"Shh Bri, someones gonna hear us."

"As if anyones gonna hear me. But if a nurse finds you, she's gonna give you like 10 extra pills in the morning."

"I know, so stay quiet."

Adrien slowly and silently walked over to his room door, opening it to find two teenage girls strolling past. The younger one was the girl he saw through the window earlier, and the older one looked like her sister, standing a little taller and with longer hair. The younger girl turned to Adrien, fear evident in her eyes. As the older one turned, Adrien caught a glimpse of her face. Instead of eyes, her eyes sockets were bare and bloody, bits of white bone poking out through the salmon-colored tissue, tendons hanging out of them onto her cheeks. Her pale skin was tinged with a slate-grey sheen, and dark circles surrounded the place where her eyes used to be.

Adrien opened his mouth to scream, but instead found the younger sisters hand clamped over it.

"Shush. You're coming with me."


	6. I have ISSUES

Holy freaking crap

I have missed you guys so much, you don't even know. Fanfiction had become one of the only parts of my life that I could depend on and find joy in.

I recently was in multiple mental hospitals due to my depression, self harm, and anorexia. It's been a struggle. That's all I'm going to say. I'm probably going to publish a fanfiction with the whole story one day, but for now, I'm going to focus on recovery.

I promise, I will update all my stories, but probably not as quickly as I wish I could.

I love you all!

XOXO

GG


	7. Chapter 5

The attic was dismal and decaying, an artic-cold draft blowing in from the thin wall and chilling Adrien to his bone. Every step he took. he felt like he would fall into a trap. Gossamer-thin cobwebs hung like streamers from the ceiling. He squinted, attempting to peer through the onyx-black darkness.

The younger girl turned and beckoned him to come closer. She and her sister stood together. It looked like the younger girl was panicking, and her sister was calming her down.

The younger girl him startled him by starting to speak. Her voice was scratchy, the voice of someone who was not the best at self-care, but it was full of warmth.

"Welcome to Francoise Dupont. We're a pretty close-knit community, but we all have our … "

She raised her fingers and curled them - so skinny and pale they were practically bones - into the quote-unquote sign. Universal language telling him that it was probably BS.

"Diagnosis. You'll find out soon that the kids here are very different, but not necessarily crazy. I'm Marinette. What's your name?"

Her face magically morphed into that of a goddess, as she smiled at Adrien, sapphire eyes sparkling.

He found himself short for words.

"A-adrien" He said, rubbing the nape of his neck.

"So.." she started. "Why did you almost scream when you saw me walking in the hallway? We're not supposed to do that at night.. Are you going to tell?"

Adrien pointed at the other girl, who was still standing in the corner, watching the conversation with interest.

"Her."

Marinette looked at his finger, then followed it to her companion.

Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.


	8. Chapter 6

Adrien caught Marinette's limp body as it fell. Within a few minutes, color began to return to her bleached cheeks. Adrien cradled her unconscious body as her long black eyelashes batted. Thinking she was waking up, Adrien sighed with relief. Her cerulean eyes opened, but they suddenly looked different. They looked ….. Older. And slightly darker. And … dead.

Startled, Adrien stepped back, dropping her body. But instead of falling, it floated, encased in blue light. Her body stood straight up, floating a few inches above the creaky wooden floor. Her eyes opened, and they went fully cerulean, glowing like a candle.

Her cherry blossom lips parted.

"Necromancer"

She whispered.

And then the light abruptly faded and they were plunged into darkness. Adrien could hear her body as it hit the floor.


	9. Chapter 7

Okay, I know I've probably said this before, but what was i tHInKinG when I wrote this title. Reopen the wounds? What does that even mean?!

XOXOX

Adrien almost hyperventilated until a spark of light broke the midnight darkness that had been choking him. He could see it coming from that older girl - Bri. It illuminated Marinette, who was sitting up clutching a gash on her head. Then they heard a long, low whistle and Marinette jumped up.

Adrien walked over to her and she grabbed his wrist, dragging him to the corner of the attic. She grabbed at a crack in the wall and pulled, hard, until an ear splitting creak echoed and a hidden door opened where the wall had just been. She ushered him in, and he followed, Bri close behind him.

They found themselves in an old rotting wooden staircase. There were dark stains covering the floorboards and walls. Marinette grabbed his hand, interlacing her slender fingers with his. He felt his heart race as she led him down the stairs, treading on silent tiptoes like a cat.

They walked for what felt like forever until they reached the end. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a small room with some faded pillows on the floor. It had a dirt floor and barren cement walls.

Marinette sat down on one of the pillows and motioned for Adrien to sit on the one next to her. Bri stood in a corner, leaning against the wall. Marinette grabbed both of Adrien's hands in her own.

"Your mother died when you were little. Your brother died a little after that, right?"

Adrien could just nod, he was rendered speechless. How could she know?

"Adrien, it's time to dig up your demons. We call it reopening you wounds."


End file.
